The number of first-time buyers pushed higher in August as data shows buyers
are stretching themselves to get on the property ladder.

Lending to first-time buyers surged in August, according to new figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders. First-time buyers took out 27,100 loans in August, an 33pc increase on a year earlier and up 7pc on July.

The data also showed buyers stretched their borrowing in relation to their income in August. The CML said first-time buyers typically took on loans worth 3.36 times their income in August, compared with 3.31 a month earlier and 3.25 the year before.

The income multiple has not been this high for first-time buyers since December 2007, when it hit 3.38, according to CML data.

But monthly repayments remained manageable due to low mortgage rates. Repayments on average represented 19pc of income, down from 20pc a year before.

The pick-up came in advance of the accelerated launch of the second phase of Help to Buy. The scheme, which provides government-backed mortgages to buyers with small deposits, had been planned for a January launch but was brought forward to this week.

Critics say it could stoke a second bubble in house prices. The first phase, which applies only to new homes, was launched in April.

Total house purchase lending continued to grow, rising 7pc on July to mark the sixth successive month of growth.

Paul Smee, director general of the CML, said: “The healthy growth in all lending areas compared to the same time last year is indicative of more confidence in the market.

"The high number of borrowers, in particular first-time buyers, opting for fixed rates reflects the attractive pricing currently on products which can provide helpful stability to borrowers for the next few years."

Fewer landlords remortgaged in August than in the previous month, meaning buy-to-let figures were slightly down, from 15,200 in July to 14,900 loans in August.

Gross UK mortgage lending held steady in August at £16.4 billion, said the CML, down slightly on July’s gross lending total of £16.7 billion but 28pc higher than August last year, at £13 billion.

Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, said: "Although August tends to be one of the quieter months of the year for the housing market as would-be buyers focus on their summer holidays, there was no let up in mortgage lending this year."

He said the Government's Funding for Lending scheme and the publicity surrounding the second phase of Help to Buy were "creating interest and instilling the belief that is finally possible to get a mortgage".

Santander and Barclays have become the latest lenders to sign up to the second stage of the Government’s Help to Buy Scheme but will not publish their mortgage rates for the second part of Government’s scheme until later this year at the earliest.